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Methow River

The rule for this water, with the receipt.

Specific sections have their own rules, listed below

Okanogan County · River · WA

Has its own special rules
How to read this page:Official text quoted regulationParsed fields from the ruleDerived calculated from rulesContext conditions, not a ruleAdvice our suggestion

The rules for this water, verbatimOfficial text

Straight from WA's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.

The reach you are on
from mouth to County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge
  • All species
    CLOSED WATERS.
Other reaches in this official entry
tributaries from mouth to County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge except Black Canyon Creek
  • All species
    Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (CRSSE) required for salmon and steelhead fishing (ages 15 and older).
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31 - in force today
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
CRC 621from County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge to Gold Creek
  • All species
    Selective gear rules.
Rules for other dates
  • All game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 15 - does not apply today
    Catch-and-release.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 15 - does not apply today
    Closed.
tributaries from the County Rd. 1535 (Burma Rd.) Bridge to Gold Creek, except Gold Creek
  • All species
    Selective gear rules.
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
CRC 621from Gold Creek to Foghorn Dam
  • All species
    Internal combustion motors prohibited. Selective gear rules.
Rules for other dates
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 30 - does not apply today
    Closed.
  • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. - does not apply today
    Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Sept. 30 - does not apply today
    Catch-and-release.
all tributaries from Gold Creek to Foghorn Dam except Beaver Creek, Chewuch River, Libby Creek, and Twisp River
  • Eastern brook troutSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    No min. size. No daily limit.
  • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31 - in force today
    Closed.
  • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
    Catch-and-release.
from Foghorn Dam to Weeman Bridge, including tributaries except Wolf Creek
    Rules for other dates
    • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Aug. 15 - does not apply today
      Closed.
    • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. - does not apply today
      Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
    • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Aug. 15 - does not apply today
      Catch-and-release. Selective gear rules.
    CRC 621from Weeman Bridge to the falls above Brush Creek
      Rules for other dates
      • WhitefishDec. 1-Last Day of Feb. - does not apply today
        Statewide min. size/daily limit. Whitefish gear rules. Open for whitefish only.
      all tributaries from Weeman Bridge to the falls above Brush Creek except Lost River, Goat Creek, and Early Winters Creek
      • All species
        Selective gear rules.
      • Steelhead (hatchery)Sat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31 - in force today
        Closed.
      • Other game fishSat. before Memorial Day-Oct. 31
        Catch-and-release.

      Statewide base layerParsed

      These defaults apply where the rules above do not modify them.

      Season
      Saturday before Memorial Day through Oct. 31Statewide
      Gear
      One line, up to 3 hooks; barbed or barbless; single, double, or treble hooks allowedStatewide
      Bait
      Allowed. Chumming prohibited unless a water's special rules permit itStatewide
      Poles
      1 pole. A two-pole endorsement covers lakes and ponds only.Statewide

      Where the verbatim rules above name a species, season, or limit, they replace the rows below. Each row is tagged with the layer it comes from.

      SpeciesDaily limitSize
      Trout
      		2min. 8"Statewide
      Steelhead
      Release all wild steelhead.
      		2min. 20"Statewide
      Whitefish
      		15-Statewide
      Bass (largemouth and smallmouth)
      No size restriction or daily limit in rivers, streams, and beaver ponds.
      		No limit-Statewide
      Walleye
      No size restriction in rivers and streams.
      		No limit-Statewide
      Channel catfish
      No min. size in rivers and streams.
      		No limit-Statewide

      How this answer was assembled

      1. StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
      2. This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
      3. Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.

      Where this section begins and ends

      Loading map…

      The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.

      • mouth(mouth terminus (adjacent named water))
      • County Rd. 1535 Bridge(road via register: county)
      • tributaries from mouth(no geocodable landmark class)
      • County Rd. 1535 Bridge except Black Canyon Creek(road via register: county)
      • Gold Creek(tributary: gold creek)
      • tributaries from the County Rd. 1535 Bridge(road via register: county)
      • Gold Creek, except Gold Creek(no geocodable landmark class)
      • Foghorn Dam(dam: not found near line)
      • all tributaries from Gold Creek(tributary: not found near line)
      • Foghorn Dam except Beaver Creek, Chewuch River, Libby Creek, and Twisp River(dam: not found near line)
      • Weeman Bridge, including tributaries except Wolf Creek(road via register: unnamed)
      • Weeman Bridge(road via register: unnamed)
      • the falls above Brush Creek(falls: not found near line)
      • all tributaries from Weeman Bridge(road via register: unnamed)
      • the falls above Brush Creek except Lost River, Goat Creek, and Early Winters Creek(falls: not found near line)

      These landmarks were each found on the map, but their positions run in a different order than the rules list them, so at least one has matched the wrong feature. No boundary is drawn from them at all: we cannot tell which one is wrong, and a boundary in the wrong place is worse than none. Use the written descriptions above.

      Season at a glanceDerived

      J
      F
      M
      A
      M
      J
      J
      A
      S
      O
      N
      D
      opensome sectionsclosedunknown

      Next change: closes Nov. 1, 2026.

      Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.

      At the water nowContext

      Overnight
      36°F
      Partly Cloudy
      Wind 1 mph · 6% precip
      Tuesday
      53°F
      Mostly Sunny
      Wind 1 to 6 mph · 6% precip
      Tuesday Night
      40°F
      Mostly Cloudy
      Wind 0 to 3 mph · 3% precip

      Streamflow: 0 cfs at methow river above goat creek near mazama, wa (2026-10-03 13:45)

      Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.

      What are you fishing for here?Advice

      Pick from the species named in Methow River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.

      You also need (Washington)

      • Fishing license. Everyone age 16 and older needs a fishing license. Under 16 fishes license-free.
      • Catch record card. Required for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and halibut, at every age including under 16. Electronic catch record cards are available in the MyWDFW and Fish Washington apps. Where a water's pamphlet entry shows a CRC code, record your catch against it.
      • Two-pole endorsement. Lets you fish a second pole on most lakes, but only where the water's rules honor it. Lake Washington, for example, does not.
      • Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement. Required for salmon and steelhead fishing on listed Columbia basin waters (ages 15 and older). The pamphlet entry says so where it applies, for example the lower Yakima River.
      • On this water: record salmon and steelhead on your catch record card under code 621.
      • On this water: parts of this river require the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement; the rules above say where.

      Checked against WDFW fishing licenses and catch record cards on July 2, 2026.

      Receipts

      Statewide rules
      Statewide
      2026-27 WA Sport Fishing Rules - statewide freshwater rules & species rules (rivers)
      Checked against this official source on July 2, 2026.
      Special rules - Methow River
      This water
      2026-27 WA Sport Fishing Rules - columbia basin rivers special rules, l n
      Checked against this official source on July 7, 2026.
      These rules matched the official source when we last checked (July 3, 2026). If a future check ever disagrees, this page gets flagged automatically. How we check our data

      Local services near Methow River

      Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.

      Run a shop or guide service on Methow River? Get listed.